xiii, 434 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : 24 cm

"The autobiography the Food Network would write if it could write one--a candid, behind-the-scenes look at how one network launched one of the biggest cultural waves of the last 20 years"--

"Big personalities, high drama--the extraordinary behind-the-scenes story of the Food Network, now about to celebrate its twentieth anniversary: the business, media, and cultural juggernaut that changed the way America thinks about food. In October 1993, a tiny start-up called the Food Network debuted to little notice. Twenty years later, it is in 100 million homes, approaches a billion dollars a year in revenue, and features a galaxy of stars whose faces and names are as familiar to us as our own family's. But what we don't know about them, and the people behind them, could fill a book. Based upon extensive inside access, documents, and interviews with hundreds of executives, stars, and employees all up and down the ladder, Allen Salkin's book is an exhilarating roller-coaster ride from chaos to conquest (and sometimes back). As Salkin takes us inside the conference rooms, studios, homes, restaurants, and after-hours meetings, we see a salty Julia Child lording it over the early network performers; a fragile Emeril Lagasse staggering from the sudden public shock of cancellation; a very green Rachael Ray nearly burning down the set on her first day; a torn Tyler Florence accepting the Applebee's job he knows he can't refuse, but with a chill running down his spine; a determined Bobby Flay reinventing himself once again to survive. Paula Deen, Tom Colicchio, Anthony Bourdain, Mario Batali, Jamie Oliver, Martha Stewart, Guy Fieri, Cat Cora: Salkin illuminates the people we thought we knew, and the ones we never knew about, in this irresistible story of the intersection between business, television, pop culture, food-and us"--

"Published simultaneously in Canada"--Title page verso

Includes index

Preface: Roll Over -- Prologue: A Final Toast to Emeril Live -- Starting from Scratch -- CNN with Stoves -- "Chefs Are the New Rock Stars" -- Bobby, Sara, Mario, and the Too-Hot Tamales -- BAM! -- Changing the Recipe -- New Owners Again!?! -- "Allez Cuisine!" -- You Reap What You Sow -- Comfort Food -- Noodle Roni with Blue Eyes : A New Kind of Star -- Competitors Sharpen Their Knives -- Channeling the Soul of a Chef -- A Ten-Billion-Dollar Prize -- Epilogue: June 2013

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